In this chapter, Mr. Al Kadhi attempts to dismiss John 10:30 in which Jesus said that "I and the Father are One". According to Al Kadhi : "This verse, however is quoted out of context". For those of you who have read Mr. Al Kadhi's work, this is an extremely humorous, and extremely hypocritical, accusation! Sometimes, I do not know where to begin my evaluation of Mr. Al Kadhi's claims - he clearly does not know, or want to know, what the Bible really says. He picks up a phrase out of context and ploughs ahead to make his point. In Section 1.2.2.12, he implied that this verse was an accusation hurled against Jesus by his enemies. In this section, Al Kadhi implies that verse 30 is not proof for the Trinity or proof that God and Jesus are One - it is simply a statement concerning the Christian unity. Is it really?

John 10: 22-30

22 Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter,

23 and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade.

24 The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

25 Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me,

26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.

27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

30 "I and the Father are one."

After reading these verses, Mr. Al Kadhi concludes: "In divinity? In a holy "Trinity"? No! They are one in PURPOSE. Just as no one shall pluck them out of Jesus' hand, so too shall no one pluck them out of God's hand." Is this what the verse really says?

This passage begins as Jesus was on his way to the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the Dedication, a holiday that we know as Hanukkah. A crowd, which was full of men who wanted to destroy Jesus, gathered around him and asked if he was the Christ - the long awaited Messiah of the Jews. Jesus accused them of disbelief because they were "not his sheep" since his sheep (or followers) listened to His voice. In verse 28, Jesus not only says that no one can snatch them from his hand, he also gives them "eternal life"! Giving eternal life is something that only God can give, therefore, Jesus implied that He and God are one. The Jewish crowd that heard these words knew exactly what Jesus was saying and many believed that Jesus had committed blasphemy by claiming to do what only God can do. In verse 30, Jesus claimed to be One with God.

31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him,

Why did the Jews want to kill Jesus? Because He said that He and his followers are one in purpose? No! They wanted to kill Jesus because they believed that He committed blasphemy by claiming to be One with God, not because He preached unity!

32 but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"

33 "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."

In verse 33, the crowd clearly said why they wanted to stone Jesus : "because you, a mere man, claim to be God." The remainder of John 10 is discussed in Section 1.2.2.12 "Makest thyself God"

After failing to make his point with John 10:30, Mr. Al Kadhi asks us in we need more proof?

Mr. Al Kadhi first cites John 17:20-23:

20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,

21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:

23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Al Kadhi asks: "Is all of mankind also part of the "Trinity"? When we read the Bible as a literary whole rather as fragmentary verses we begin to see the truth and we begin to see that far from preaching the "Trinity" of the Church, Jesus (pbuh) only preached that which God told us in the noble Qur'an that he preached, namely, the strict and uncompromising Oneness (monotheism) of God alone." Once again, Al Kadhi misunderstands the text.

In verse 21, Jesus says that the Spirit of the Father and the Son is the perfect union - something that Mr. Al Kadhi has been trying to disprove all along. What does this union accomplish? First, it brings all believers into a living unity, and then this unity goes one step further - with the Father and the Son. Please note that Jesus never mixed Himself up with His disciples when He associated Himself with God the Father, but said I in THEM and THEY in US.

In verse 22, Jesus prays that the Christian community of believers may be one as God and Jesus are One. Verse 23 continues with a prayer for Christian unity.

Mr. Al Kadhi omitted verses 24-26:

24 "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

25 "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.

26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."

These verses, especially verse 24, clearly say that God and Jesus are one since they were both together before creation.

Mr. Al Kadhi ends this discussion by saying : "Such terminology can be found in many other places, read for example:" - referring to terms that are used to represent Christian unity. He then cites:

1 Corinthians 6:15-17

Mr. Al Kadhi apparently accepts verses 15-17 of this chapter, and quotes them to attempt to make his point, but I doubt that he accepts the entire Chapter! Let us look at verses 14 to 17.

14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.

I doubt that Mr. Al Kadhi accepts the first part of this verse!

15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!

16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh."

17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

Is this passage talking exclusively about Christian unity? In the case of union with a prostitute (verse 16), the man becomes one "body" with her and not one "spirit" with her. The spirit is the power of the Holy Spirit in man, but in the case of the man who is visiting a prostitute, his lust causes him to ignore the Spirit. The body of the believer is sanctified by union with Christ's body, but also becomes "one spirit" with Him (see also John 15:1-7, 17:21, 2 Peter 1:4, Ephesians 5:23-32, and John 3:6).

2 Peter 1:4

Mr. Al Kadhi quotes verse 4:

4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

I believe that Mr. Al Kadhi misses the message of this verse. It says that sanctification is the imparting of God by the Holy Spirit in our souls. We, through faith, partake of the material nature of Jesus (see Ephesians 5:30). The "divine power" allows us to be partakers of "the divine nature" of God.

It is interesting the Mr. Al Kadhi ignores the remainder of this passage, especially verse 17:

17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Ephesians 4:6

Mr. Al Kadhi continues by citing Ephesians 4:6

6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Once again, I recommend that we read the entire passage, especially verses 10 - 13 :

10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)

11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Mr. Al Kadhi cites 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 and Ephesians 4:4 which clearly speak of the Church as the Body of Christ, not the Trinity.

Mr. Al Kadhi reaches his conclusion: "Once we read the above verses and understand what the message was that Paul was trying to get across, then we can begin to understand his words in such places as "St. Paul" was speaking about Christian unity, not about a plurality of gods merged into one body. As we shall soon see, he was completely ignorant of where his teachings would later lead, and how decades later, they would be the foundations which would spawn the "Trinity" doctrine."

Paul did talk about the unity of Christians, he never said that a "plurality of gods merged into one body". Lastly, many of the chapters cited by Mr. Al Kadhi contain the answers to many of his concerns about where Paul's teaching led Christianity. For example, Ephesians 4:11-13:

11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

The Rebuttal to "What Did Jesus Really Say?"
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